Random Behind-The-Scenes Stories From 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' (14 items)

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  (#13) Oliver Stone And Martin Scorsese Failed To Turn The Book Into A Film

  Rolling Stone published the first part of Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas on November 11, 1971 - one year before Thompson turned the piece into a book. Interest from Hollywood soon followed. Jack Nicholson looked into starring, and both Oliver Stone and Martin Scorsese attempted (and failed) to produce the film. One producer allegedly considered John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd for the main roles.

  Director Clive Arrowsmith shared some potential film ideas with Thompson, including how to re-create the moment when reporters become reptiles. Arrowsmith suggested, "It'll be easy - we'll just get live alligators, we'll give them some quaaludes, and we'll nail their f*cking paws to the bar."

  In the interim, Where the Buffalo Roam - an adaptation of several Thompson stories - came out. However, the movie was a critical and box office failure, "because [the subject matter] became uncool," as Thompson put it. For a while, it seemed like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas might never be made.
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  (#12) The Lizard Scene Only Features Eight Animatronics

  Both camera work and special effects add to the bizarre visuals in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. For the memorable scene in which Raoul Duke starts tripping and suddenly finds himself in a bar surrounded by giant lizards, the filmmakers used animatronics instead of computer-generated graphics.

  They ordered 25 lizards, but only received eight. To make the bar seem packed with lizard-people, the crew got creative, dressing the lizards in costumes and changing their clothes between shots so they all looked different. The crew also shot parts of the scene in different areas around the bar to make it look like the lizards were in different spaces. 
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  (#2) The Filmmakers Used Different Techniques For Different Substances

  According to director Terry Gilliam, the film recreates the effects of taking various psychoactive substances, "with all the uppers and downers in it. Both the most manic wonderful stuff and the really depressing stuff." To achieve this visual experience, the filmmakers used jump cuts, recorded scenes at odd angles, shot in slow-motion, and employed a wide-angle lens to make scenes uncomfortably disorientating.

  To get the viewer into the characters' heads, director of photography Nicola Pecorini used a different film technique for each substance depicted in the film. Mescaline can create an altered sense of time and make colors seem more intense, so Pecorini shot those scenes with soft lighting and a similar color palette, causing colors to blend into one another. Acid scenes make use of the wide-angle lens, distorting the surroundings and creating a sense of expansion. Sections involving adrenochrome use closeups to imitate claustrophobia and disordered thoughts.
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  (#1) Johnny Depp And Hunter S. Thompson Bonded By Taking Shots At A Propane Tank

  Johnny Depp first read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas as a teenage high school dropout and amateur band member. He recalled, "It was the most outrageous thing I'd ever read. F*ck, those guys were heroes, man. I mean, they had to be, out there, living that."

  Depp got the chance to meet Hunter S. Thompson years later in 1995 while visiting Thompson's favorite local bar. Thompson walked in using two electrified cattle prods to maneuver through the crowd. Though he had only seen one of Depp's films, the two got along well and Thompson invited Depp to his house to continue the party. Around 2 am, Thompson taped a small package of nitroglycerin to a canister of propane and used it for target practice. Depp wasn't afraid, though, saying, "I trusted him... He's survived all these years."

  The two men established a friendship, and the author asked the actor to play him in an early version of Fear and Loathing. Depp agreed, but worried creating an accurate portrayal of his friend might damage their relationship. Thompson brushed this off, noting he maintained a friendship with Bill Murray after Where the Buffalo Roam.
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  (#5) Hunter S. Thompson Shaved Johnny Depp's Head

  In order to fully transform into Hunter S. Thompson, Johnny Depp shaved the top of his head. He did it just before traveling to Colorado to visit the real Thompson one last time before filming started. However, the writer didn't love the cut, and asked Depp to keep his hat on in public.

  Eventually, Thompson decided to tweak the style himself, and with permission, he cropped Depp's hair to perfection. "He was very gentle. No cuts. No weirdness. He wore a mining light, so he could see. He's prepared for f*cking everything," Depp remembered.
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  (#4) Hunter S. Thompson's Real Car And Clothes Appear In The Film

  In order to completely absorb Hunter S. Thompson's aura, Johnny Depp dug through the author's closets and found his clothes from 1971. Some of the wardrobe items ended up in the movie, though as Thompson's assistant Deborah Fuller noted, "The clothes hadn't been washed in 30 years."

  Thompson also allowed Depp to drive his red Chevy convertible, the Great Red Shark, from Colorado back to Los Angeles to use in the film. Depp left at 3 am and drove with no shelter from the cold because the convertible's top wouldn't close. Luckily, Thompson packed his pal a cooler full of supplies and loaned him a few flashlights. Depp entertained himself with a portable cassette player and music mentioned in Thompson's book.

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